Internet sex photo scandal – a mirror of a distorted social norm in the era of Web 2.0

Internet sex photo scandal has appeared in the headlines of popular newspapers for more than a week. Social issues brought about by this scandal deserve in-depth discussion in the Liberal Studies lessons. Here are two questions I would like to raise.

(1) Is this scandal a reflection of a slackened moral value in the era of Web 2.0. ?

It is unquestionable that uploading and mass distribution of pornographic materials are prohibited by laws. In this scandal, offenders obtained the materials without the permission of the owners. What the offender did is no difference from distributing stolen properties to third parties and it is a serious criminal act. The only difference is properties of this kind are intangible and reproducible. Why do web surfers distributing these materials feel no guilty of their acts – stealing and infringing privacy of others? Freedom and equal opportunities of participation are the central dogma in the era of web 2.0. Wikipedia and blogs are one of the products of collaborative creation and social networking, just to name a few. Web surfers thought they had done it right by ‘freely’ send those stolen materials to others and their acts fit perfectly well to the norm of the internet society. The advent of web 2.0 has unleashes the people’s creativity and potential but at the same time blurred the line between freedom and morality.

(2) To what extent does our society want internet social order be regulated by legal means?

Our legal system fails to keep abreast of the seemingly anarchic social order on the internet. The definitions of ‘pornography’, ‘indecency’ and ‘mass distribution’ deserve further clarification by law makers and consensus should be reached among majority of society. Some people propose that internet social order should be self-regulated and excluded from legal regulation. I don’t buy this idea because it is too easy for people to abuse their rights and freedom at the expense of others in the internet society. The virtual world is only an extended part of our society. Laws and orders in the real world should also take effect in the virtual world in order to protect internet citizens’ rights and privacy.